by Jacqui Rose
Alice leaned over the seat and kissed Lola gently on her cheek. ‘Lola, please do as Alfie tells you. It really will be better if you stay here.’
‘You mean, I’m no good for anything?’
‘That’s not what we’re saying at all,’ Alice said warmly.
‘I can still do my bit, you know. Look at Alfie, his leg’s bust up, he’s hardly up to it himself. Look, I can’t just do nothing. What would Franny and Bree think if I was just kicking back and doing nowt helping out? I just wish I could be of use.’
Nervously, Alice’s eyes darted about before she beamed a smile at Lola. ‘Listen, we couldn’t have done any of this without you. You’ve played your part, you really have. It was only because of you that I didn’t run off. You came searching for me and you made me see sense, showed me that I was being selfish. You’ve been amazing and I love you, but we need you here, so please, Lola, let Alfie and I do what we have to do.’
Lola’s eyes filled with tears, panic embedded into her voice. ‘But what if you don’t come back? How long should I stay here? Should I come looking for you after an hour, should I call someone, what should I do?’
As Alice looked at the road ahead, catching a glimpse of the farmhouse far in the distance, she simply muttered, ‘Just pray for us, Lola, just pray, because right now that’s all you can do.’
52
‘Sal, hey, Sal, can I have a word?’ Bobby Russo smiled at his brother as he sat on one of the broken chairs in the warehouse, next to the cage where Franny and Bree were being kept.
Nonchalantly, Salvatore shrugged, got up and walked across to Bobby. ‘Yeah, sure, what’s up?’
Bobby tipped his head to one side, his eyes darkening. ‘See, the thing is, I’ve got a little problem.’
Suddenly concerned, Salvatore frowned. ‘Yeah?’
Bobby looked around, bringing his voice down to a whisper. He smiled again, holding Salvatore’s stare as he placed his hand gently on the back of Salvatore’s neck. ‘You little fucking creep, you think you can betray us?’
‘What!’
Then, without warning and with vicious fury, Bobby kneed his brother hard in his stomach. Shocked and taken by surprise, Salvatore fell forward, sprawling on top of the cage, causing Bree to scream in fright.
‘Come on, Sal, get up! Get up, you motherfucker.’
Bewildered, Salvatore staggered up and edged back towards the warehouse entrance with Bobby bearing down on him.
‘Where are you going, hey, Sal? Huh?’
‘What’s wrong with you, Bobby? What the fuck is wrong with you?’
Bobby laughed as he brought his fist slamming down again, his New Jersey twang loud and aggressive. ‘What’s wrong with me? What’s wrong with me? You motherfucker. You creeping motherfucker.’
Bobby launched into another attack, kicking Salvatore hard over and over again, knocking him out of the warehouse and back out towards the ditch as he continued to yell at him, wild-eyed. ‘Ci hai tradito.’
Salvatore, panting and wiping the blood out of his eyes, struggled to get up but slipped back down into the ditch by the stream. Breathless, he gasped, ‘What are you talking about, Bobby? I’ve never betrayed you, I wouldn’t. I love you. Ti amo.’
Incensed, Bobby dragged Salvatore’s head up by his hair, spitting in rage as he slammed his fist into his face so hard that he split open Salvatore’s lip.
‘We know about the emails, Sal. We know about you and Cabhan. Thought you’d get away with it, huh? Thought you were smart, did you? But you’re not so smart now, are you?’
Punching Salvatore again, causing him to splutter and cough as his mouth filled with blood, Bobby stared at his brother with disgust. ‘You make me sick! Does family mean nothing to you?’
‘I don’t know what you’re talking about, I swear.’
In agony, Salvatore tried to crawl away, but another well-aimed brutal kick from Bobby left him groaning on the floor. Spitting the blood out of his mouth, Salvatore watched in horror as Bobby took a gun from his back pocket and aimed it at him.
‘Bobby, no!’
To which Bobby Russo smiled and pulled the trigger.
‘Brucia all’inferno, Salvatore. Burn in hell.’
Alfie and Alice hid behind a copse of trees, the farmhouse still some way in the distance.
‘What was that, Ally? It sounded like a gunshot.’
Alice, feeling the tension, shook her head. ‘I don’t know, but it came from over there, near the buildings.’
Alfie listened again but, hearing nothing more, turned his attention back to Alice, feeling nervous himself.
‘So have you got it now? Do you understand? There’s really not much to it. But it’s got a massive kickback, and it’s heavy, and of course these shells don’t travel far, so you need to be up close and personal.’
Alfie handed one of the shotguns to Alice, grimacing at the pain in his leg, which was throbbing now the alcohol had begun to wear off.
Alice nodded as she stared at the gun, hearing the anxiety in her own voice. ‘Yep, I understand. How hard can it be, right?’
Alfie saw the fear in Alice’s eyes, and a surge of guilt and concern hit him. ‘Listen, darlin’, why don’t you just go back to the car, sit with Lola? I think that’s the best thing, don’t you? It’s not right, you shouldn’t be doing this. You’re sixteen, for Christ’s sake, no young girl should be holding a shotgun in their hand. Please, Alice, just go back. I can do this. I got it, I promise.’
Wishing she could do just that, Alice gave Alfie a small smile. ‘No, Alfie, we’re in this together. I’m not leaving you.’
‘But, Alice, this is dangerous. This isn’t a game, someone could get hurt. And like Lola says, we might not be heading back tonight, if you know what I mean. I can’t let you do this.’
‘You’ve got no choice. This is my decision. I’m under no illusion, Alfie, I know what’s waiting for us, but I have faith. I have faith that somehow Bree and Franny will be okay, but not if I back out. This is something I have to do.’
Alice stopped talking and tried desperately to get her shaking under control. She wiped away the tears that were rolling down her face. These past few days she’d cried more than she had in her entire life.
‘I’m sorry, I don’t know why I’m even crying, it’s stupid, that’s all I seem to be doing.’
‘Alice, it’s okay. I’ve been around for a long time and even I’m bricking it. We’re going into the unknown and you, well, Jesus, Alice, I’ve never met anyone so brave. But this is going to be tough, we’re up against it.’
‘I know, I know, but we have to finish this. Whatever it takes, Nico won’t stop it so we have to, Alfie.’
Alfie stared at Alice for a moment before he took her in a tight embrace, holding her closely and kissing her on her head. ‘Alice Rose, have I ever told you how much we all love you?… Now, if we are going to do this, come on, let’s go and kick some ass.’
Alice and Alfie ran through the trees and bushes as fast as they could. Alfie, pouring with sweat, stopped occasionally to lean on a tree, pain from his leg shooting through his body. But, determined, he darted through the woods a few feet behind Alice, the farmhouse coming into sight.
On the mound of the hill that overlooked the farm, Alice, fear and adrenalin pumping through her, lay on her stomach next to Alfie, a gun by her side.
As Alice kept her eyes on the farmhouse, Alfie surveyed the area, staring at the large derelict warehouse situated by the other farm buildings. Then he suddenly ducked, pulling Alice down with him.
‘Alice, someone’s coming! Stay still!’
Breathing hard, Alice and Alfie stayed frozen on the ground for a few moments before, fear pricking him, Alfie warily raised his head again.
He watched as two men, both armed with semi-automatic weapons, walked around the building in deep conversation, then stopped to smoke their cigars by an old burnt-out tractor.
Worried, he whispered quickly to Alice again. ‘We should
really wait until it’s dark. If we run down now, try to get to the warehouse or have a look inside any of the other buildings, we’ll be so exposed they’ll see us straightaway.’
‘But we can’t wait, you know that.’ Alice looked at Alfie in panic.
Deep in thought, Alfie fell silent until eventually he said, ‘Maybe what we need is to cause a distraction, do something that will make them all come running out. That way we’ll have a good chance to see how many of them there are.’
‘Lola. Why don’t we call her? She can drive the car, they’re sure to come out.’
‘I don’t know, it could be risky.’
Alice’s voice was urgent. ‘Look, we have to do something, what else is there? Just get Lola to drive to the top of the hill and then she can turn back. Like you say, all we need is a distraction that will give us a chance to go and see what’s down there. See if Franny and Bree are even there, because we don’t know that for certain. Alfie, just call her. Please.’
With his eyes still trained on the men, Alfie, knowing there were no other options, pulled his phone out of his pocket. He hesitated just for a moment to glance at Alice before pressing call.
‘Lola, you’ve got your wish, darlin’, we need your help.’
From over the horizon, Alfie and Alice saw the red Ferrari swerving and weaving, snaking and spinning, spitting up dirt and smoke along the gravel path. Alfie could only guess at how fast Lola was going, but it was clearly too fast. Even from where they were waiting, they could see the smoke billowing up and out of the car and the sound of the engine revving, turning over at high speed, was booming out like a beatbox.
Terrified for Lola, Alfie muttered, ‘Fucking hell, what’s she doing? She was supposed to just stop there. Christ almighty, why ain’t she turning?’
He stared in horror. It was clear Lola was completely out of control as the Ferrari hurtled down the track, careering on, heading for the farm.
Scrambling up with some difficulty, Alfie yelled to Alice, ‘Come on, Alice! Run! Let’s at least make the most of it.’
The pair set off, sprinting down the grassy verge in the direction of the car. Alice, her heart racing, caught a glimpse of one of the Russos’ men rushing up the hill towards the speeding vehicle, but there was nothing she could do to help – only hope that somehow Lola would be able to regain control …
Inside the car, Lola, terrified, pushed down on the accelerator, trying to turn the Ferrari back around. But feeling like the vehicle was in control rather than her, she gripped the leather steering wheel as if she were in some kind of fight.
The smell of burnt rubber and engine fumes filled the air. Her head flicked back as one of the wheels hit a stone, making the car veer and spin, speeding it along the dirt track with the dial hitting 120 and dust blowing from underneath the wheels as if the Ferrari were on fire.
With the wind streaming around the car and the noise of the gravel hitting the underside like hailstones, Lola, petrified, screamed over the blare of the roaring engine as she tried to keep the car straight, smoke and dirt clouding her vision. Suddenly, in front of her, she saw a man running from behind the warehouse, gun in hand.
Frantically trying to manoeuvre the car in a different direction, Lola spun the steering wheel hard. But all she managed to do was send the Ferrari careering into a skid, spinning it round and round into a powerful tight circle before it came to an abrupt, grinding, stalling halt by the side of the warehouse wall.
Without having a minute to catch her breath, Lola watched in terror as the man came nearer towards her. Almost hysterical, Lola, crying hard, pressed the start button. ‘Come on, come on, come on, start! Oh my Christ!’
Horrified, she began to shake as she watched the man raise his gun and aim it straight at her whilst she tried desperately to get the car going again. She let out a blood-curdling scream as she ducked down, throwing herself to the side as the bullet shattered the windscreen. Lying on her side, she glanced up, and there at the passenger window was Gian, holding his gun.
She stared into his eyes and held her breath in terror as he smiled.
‘Please, no, please.’
‘Addio signora. Goodbye.’ As he went to pull the trigger, Gian’s eyes suddenly rolled back, the whites showing, a bullet hole through his head as he fell forward, his body smashing against the car before dropping onto the dirt track.
Traumatised, Lola looked up, blinking away the spots of blood that had splattered onto her face. A few feet away she saw Alfie holding a smoking gun. He opened his mouth to say something but, as he did, Lola screamed again.
‘Alfie! Look out!’
The pain in Alfie’s shoulder told him he’d been hit as he whirled round too late to see another of the Russo men behind him. Desperately, he tried to shoot back, but his arm, his shoulder didn’t have the strength to raise his shotgun.
He staggered forward as Lola continued to scream whilst the man aimed his weapon directly at Alfie.
‘Put it down. I said put it down,’ Alice Rose shouted as she crept up unnoticed and shoved the muzzle of her gun hard into the man’s back. ‘I said put it down. Now!’
Immediately the man dropped his gun, throwing it on the muddy ground as Alice continued to give instructions.
‘Put your hands up and turn around. Go on. Turn!’
Slowly, the man, small and well-built, turned around. He stared at Alice Rose, who stood by the warehouse holding a sawn-off shotgun. Her hands trembled as she glanced at Alfie, who was bleeding heavily and lying on the ground in agony.
‘Stay where you are. I said, stay where you are!’
For a moment the man hesitated as he watched Alice intently before a large grin spread across his face. He spoke with a heavy New Jersey accent. ‘You can’t do it, can you?’
Alice shook, her hands still trembling. ‘I can, and I will.’
‘Come on then, little girl, I’m waiting.’
The man walked confidently towards her, holding her stare as Alice’s fingers wavered over the trigger. Terrified, her voice broke into a whisper. ‘Stay back! Stay where you are. I’ve warned you.’
The man’s grin contorted into a sneer. ‘What are you going to do, shoot me?’
‘No, but I am.’
Taken by complete surprise, the man quickly spun round to face Lola, who held Alfie’s gun in her hands. She looked at him with contempt. ‘And I have no problem with doing it, mate, none whatsoever.’
And with that, Lola Harding pulled the trigger.
Chucking the gun to the ground, Lola hobbled across to where Alice stood. ‘Are you all right, lovie?’
Distressed, Alice looked at Lola wide-eyed. ‘I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I couldn’t do it. I tried, but I just couldn’t. I’ve let you down, I’m so sorry.’
‘Hey, hey, stop that. No need to be sorry, don’t even say that.’
Before Alice could reply, Alfie shouted to them. ‘Can you hear that? It sounds like someone’s calling.’
He spoke through gritted teeth, the pain showing in his face as he pushed himself up against the warehouse wall, cold sweat running down his forehead. Lola and Alice hurriedly went over to him, with Lola wrapping her neck scarf tightly round his shoulder to try to curb the bleeding. Alfie frowned, speaking quietly as the pain soared round his body.
‘Sshhh, there it is again. You must’ve heard that?’
Lola nodded. ‘Yes, I can hear a voice. I think it’s coming from in there. Alfie, it is.’
Without waiting for the others, Alice, her hopes rising, ran to the end of the building and popped her head around the corner, making sure no one was there.
‘Alice! Be careful!’ Lola shouted after her as Alice crept along the wall until she came to a large wooden door. She waited there as Alfie, helped by Lola, came up behind her. ‘Are you sure you don’t want to stay here? I’ll go in if you like.’
‘It’s fine, Lola.’
Alice smiled as she slid open the door, recoiling at the smell that hit her. She covere
d her nose and, side by side with Alfie and Lola, walked into the gloom of the warehouse.
‘Hello?’ A voice came out of the darkness.
‘Bree? Bree, is that you?’
‘Alfie?’
‘Yes, I’m here, baby, I’m here!’ Alfie’s voice was filled with relief and despite his pain, he ran towards her. He stopped in his tracks as he saw Bree, covered in blood and bodily fluids, trapped and locked like a dog in a cage.
He fell to his knees, sick at what he was seeing, anger welling in him. ‘Bree, oh my God, Bree. What did they do to you?’
Bree’s fingers touched Alfie’s through the bars. She spoke, her lips parched and cracked, her voice hoarse and frail. ‘You found me. You came for me, Alfie.’
‘Yes, darlin’, of course we did, of course, but it was Alice and her friend who found you … Where’s Franny? Bree, where’s Franny?’
Weak and dehydrated, Bree tried to answer but her head nodded forward.
‘Okay, don’t talk, it’s okay, baby.’
Alfie turned to Lola, trying not to worry about the amount of blood he was losing, focused instead on what he needed to do. ‘We’ve got to get her out of there. The others will be around here somewhere. Let’s get back in the car as soon as we can. But we can’t shoot the lock off, it’s too small a space, she’ll get hurt. Lola, why don’t you go and check the men’s pockets for the keys? It’s best you do it rather than Alice, they’ll be in a bit of a mess.’
Distraught at the sight of Bree, Lola nodded and shuffled off without saying a word.
Before Alfie had time to say anything else, his phone rang, buzzing in his top pocket. ‘Get that for me, Alice. I can’t move me arm.’
Quickly, Alice pulled the phone out. The call came up as private.
‘It might be Isaiah or Abel, I’ll take it outside.’
She ran to the warehouse door and stepped back into the sunlight as she answered.
‘Hello? Isaiah?’
‘No.’
Alice paused, then carefully said, ‘Who is this?’
‘I should ask you the same question, but it’s Bobby, I was calling to speak to Alfie about Franny, I thought he might want to say goodbye.’